Finghin Collins - pianist
"RTÉ Symphony Orchestra had all the advance appearance of a concert that was jinxed...the current volcanic ash travel crisis knocked out the advertised soloist, Boris Berezovsky. The programme went ahead unchanged, with Finghin Collins stepping into the breach. It’s no tall order to take on Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto at short notice, although Collins did have the advantage of having played the piece at the end of February, with the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast. In the event, there was not a hint of the behind-the-scenes disruption in the actual music-making. Collins is a player of unusual sang-froid. He doesn’t usually flinch under pressure, and even the exceptional demands of Brahms’s Second Concerto didn’t appear to faze him. Collins delivered the grandeur and warmth of the first and third movements, the grit of the second and the graceful lightness of the finale as if it were all second nature to him. And Mandeal wove the orchestral texture around and underneath him with perceptive skill.
Michael Dervan, The Irish Times, April 20th 2010
"The young Dublin pianist Finghin Collins made his London Proms debut last year with the Ulster Orchestra, and this fine partnership continued in the Ulster Hall on Friday night. This time they combined in Brahms' massive Piano Concerto No 2 which again demonstrated the close rapport between the pianist and the orchestra, under the direction of its Principal Conductor Kenneth Montgomery. Finghin Collins was equal to the technical and emotional demands of the differing moods of this concerto, with its power and sensitivity delicately balanced throughout.... This was an evening where the soloist, the orchestra and also the conductor were on top of their form."
Alf McCreary, Belfast Telegraph, February 27th 2010
"The Irish pianist Finghin Collins surprises with a virtuosic keyboard thunderstorm in the style of a keyboard lion. He even swings his arms and clenches his fist, to fire himself up."
Monika Lanzendörfer, Mannheimer Morgen, February 1st 2010
"Finghin Collins has long been the most successful Irish pianist of his generation.. Collins presents himself as a warm-hearted romantic. There's a beguiling easi-ness to his delivery, as if nothing is really demanding or challenging to him. He always gives the impression of being in command of what he does....In Schumann's carnivalesque Faschingsschwank aus Wien, he enabled the music to burst with explosive energy and to linger languishingly in pools of tenderness. This was definitely a carnival to celebrate."
Michael Dervan, The Irish Times, February 1st 2010
"Now enjoying international acclaim, Dublin-born pianist Finghin Collins is at the National Concert Hall as part of its Celebrity Recital Series. His inclusion in the star-studded roster is both fitting and deserved. His strongly German programme this week has Bach and Brahms separated by Schumann. As his albums on the Claves label demonstrate, Collins has developed a sensitive affinity with the latter’s romanticism. But he begins with Bach’s Second Partita where his playing is tremendously robust with the composer’s counterpoint possessing definitive clarity. Collins’ choice of tempi gives the music a bracing air and a wonderful feeling of vitality. At the same time there is inherent discipline beneath the pianist’s spontaneity. The three Op 117 Intermezzi represent the mature Brahms. The lament-cum-cradle-song nature of the First is beautifully expressive. Its cantabile lines breathe resignation and consolation. The Second exchanges serenity for agitation but Collins also provides control in the calmer central section.In less understanding hands the sombre quality of the Third Intermezzo could become tediously fragmented. Here its natural, if occasionally obscure, flow is realised through exquisitely soft pianism. Finghin Collins brings tremendous flair to the relative unfamiliarity of Schumann’s Six Op 4 Intermezzi and the more popular Op 26 ‘Faschingsschwank aus Wien’. There is terrific momentum in Finghin Collins’ interpretation and the diffuse and musically loquacious Intermezzi are carefully kept in check. In the final one Collins divulges an amusing hint of the circus and music hall. The ‘Faschingsschwank’ is superbly colourful and adroitly flamboyant to suit its expansive phrases. The Finale bursts with wild excitement and Collins’ bravura performance is a riot of virtuosity."
Pat O'Kelly, Irish Independent, January 29th 2010
"The Irish pianist made a tremendous impression with Mozart's A major concerto. Collins approached his part in a light, free and inspired manner, with sparkling virtuosity and a clear predilection for expressive phrasing, connecting seamlessly with the orchestra's part right the way through. He flooded the magical work with the light of his unfettered tone and found a meaning for every nuance: a staccato was here a laugh and there a hop, every run had a sense of direction... It was absolute bliss when Collins played the first of Brahms' Intermezzi Opus 117 as an encore: very slow, very tender, the melody perfectly phrased in the middle hand - a dream in E flat major, glimmering like moonlight..."
Ute van der Sanden, Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, January 21st 2010
"Collins plays Schumann in a refreshingly direct, unfussy manner, with a warm-hearted tone full of telling touches and refined rubato. Listen, for instance, to the way he subtly shapes the melody of the first of the "Three Little Pieces" of Bunte Blätter (the whole set is a joy, not least the concluding "Quick March") and sings his way over the energetic semiquaver accompaniment in the Intermezzo from Faschingsschwank aus Wien..."
Jeremy Nicholas, Gramophone Magazine, September 2009
"In this version of the Etudes symphoniques (in which he incorporates the posthumous variations) he shows himself to be a very rare artist in that the fearsome technical difficulties are surmounted seemingly without effort, at the same time as the poetic nature of his interpretations place him in the highest class, alongside Perahia and Kempff. Where Collins scores so admirably is that his combination of those elements are placed wholly within a profound understanding of the underlying structural mastery of the studies - a demonstration of the Celto-Germanic revelation. At times, it would be hard to imagine more sensitive pianism (such as the posthumous Variation IV) or more controlled virtuosity (as in the succeeding Variation VI, Allegro molto) or more technical-expressive virtuosity (as in the ninth Etude). This is deeply impressive playing throughout."
Robert Matthew-Walker, International Record Review, June 2009
"Finghin Collins, gifted with playing of perfect loyalty, playing of a precision which affords grandeur and refinement in equal measure, playing of a natural simplicity which rejects effects without getting in the way of expression, possesses the means of his ambitions. Over and above this pianistic baggage, he demonstrates again, in the well-known pages of the Abegg Variations, the Etudes Symphoniques and the Faschingsschwank aus Wien, that he has everything of a great Schumannien, with all that that entails - imagination without excess, taste and sound-world."
Etienne Moreau, Diapason magazine, France, June 2009
"The Irish pianist Finghin Collins fulfilled his task [Strauss Burleske] with elegant nobility, scintillating fingerwork and clearly delineated passages."
Mannheimer Morgen, May 15th 2009
"The longer works - the Etudes Symphoniques (which includes the posthumous variations) and the BunteBlätter - find Collins on top form, noble and touching, as do the Nachtstücke and the fully indulged carnivalesque contrasts of Faschingsschwank aus Wien."
Michael Dervan, The Irish Times, April 24th 2009
"The young Dublin-born pianist Finghin Collins gave a performance of his compatriot's concerto that released the intense white heat of its inspiration. In the first, almost ludicrously Rachmaninovian, movement, Collins's crystalline accompanying figures and octaves had just the measure of Stanford's recreative homage: both panache and poetry sang out. The harp of Erin seemed to be sounding in the slow movement, and the finale was boisterous with a distinctively Irish brogue. Could this be the start of an overdue rehabilitation of this fascinatingly bilingual work?"
Stanford Piano Concerto No 2/BBC Proms/Ulster Orchestra
Hilary Finch, The Times, August 2008
"Finghin Collins' beautifully structured, transparent piano playing was the real delight of the performance." Stanford Piano Concerto No 2/BBC Proms/Ulster Orchestra
Andrew Clements, The Guardian, August 2008
"The young Irish pianist Finghin Collins produced fresh and brilliant fingerwork in the C major Piano Concerto." (Mostly Mozart Festival/Barbican)
Hugh Canning, Sunday Times, July 2007
"Vol 1 of Finghin Collins's Schumann cycle is revelatory. in this young Irish pianist we have an artist (and I use the word advisedly) of rare poetic empathy, one with an uncanny and moving capacity to arrive at the still centre, the very heart, of Schumann's teeming and frenzied imagination."
Bryce Morrison, Gramophone Editor's Choice, October 2006
"On the second disc, Kinderszenen has just that quality of inner restraint, almost self-communion, that only the best Schumann players achieve. . . .This is a fine new release, and all Schumann enthusiasts should sit up and take notice of a rare talent."
Piers Burton-Page, International Record Review, July / August 2006
"In any case, the Irishman... confirmed on the stage of the Ferme St-Maurice the qualities already witnessed on his recent recording, completely devoted to Schumann (Claves). Firstly the Humoreske, whose seven pieces displayed the sensitivity of his touch (very beautiful ³Einfach² and ³Einfach und zart²) and a maturity which nourished all of the changes of mood and of register which characterize this work. ....Finghin Collins, lanky and shy though he seemed, let rip with precise, earthy playing [Liszt B minor Sonata] and, with surprising ease, he mastered all of the structural challenges of the piece."
Rocco Zacheo, Le Temps, Geneva, July 13th 2006
"The performance [Penderecki Sextet] packed a real punch, with Collins, on the top of his form, serving as a potent driving force..."
The Irish Times, July 4th 2006
"Playing in chamber music style, the Philharmonic Orchestra players tiptoed with feathered feet behind a wonderful Mozart soloist - Finghin Collins. The smart Irishman allowed the notes to sound utterly effortlessly, without ever forgetting to underline the sudden profound questions and tearful smiles that are so Mozartian. The Larghetto was the highlight of the concert..."
Kieler Nachrichten, Germany, June 26th 2006
"The opening bars signalled a roller-coaster performance, with Collins taking risks that threatened to break barriers of taste and speed, but never did. He coaxed meaning from the leanest textures and delivered Shostakovitch's range of parody - from Beethoven to honky-tonk - with panache"
South China Morning Post, Hong Kong, June 6th 2006
"Finghin Collins was impressive and director-soloist in K459, bringing out interest in the orchestral writing as well as creating a lovely serenade in the slow movement."
Manchester Evening News , March 23rd 2006
"Intimacy is a word that captures Finghin Collins' approach to Concerto No. 27, which he performed with intense concentration and a velvet touch".
Belfast Newsletter, January 31st 2006
"But in the last of the 27 piano concertos, Finghin Collins was a valuable asset in revealing the poignancy of its opening, the fragile delicacy of its central larghetto and the bouncing gaiety of its finale."
Pat O'Kelly, Irish Independent, January 30th 2006
"The young Irish pianist Finghin Collins already seduced the public in Hagen's Stadthalle with Mozart in the year 2002. Now Collins shows again that he is one of the most promising piano discoveries of our time. He brings a real glow to Bartok's sounds, particularly in the great middle movement, and at the same time he is well able to combine the pounding motor of the piece (with its echoes of jazz) with the more poetic moments. Moreover, Finghin Collins is a soloist who communicates with the orchestra in a fully alert way. At the end of the first movement Collins listens almost breathlessly to the bird song in the solo flute and then takes up the melody on the piano, finding marvellous tension in the final chord: an enchanting and truly gripping moment of music."
Monika Willer, Westfalenpost, December 14th 2005
"With the 28-year-old Dublin pianist Finghin Collins the audience got to know a young, talented and committed musician, who interpreted Béla Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 3 with abandon. He identified completely with this 60-year-old, clearly organised music, which develops sometimes tangy harmonies with exotic sounds. Cantabile woodwind entries, splendid trumpet solos and delicate flute passages were interwoven with the sharply rhythmic profile of the soloist's cascading octaves. The choral-like visionary middle movement was characterized by a ripe, expressive meditation, which convinced with its natural, subtle virtuosity."
Westfälische Rundschau, December 14th 2005
"In the introductory cadenza, Collins turned the mood with exactly the right blend of solemnity and good humour. Nor was there any hint of the meretricious in his clear and urbane contributions to the ensuing variations and hymn.. this was a performance that made Beethoven's optimism all the more irresistibly uplifting".
Andrew Johnstone, The Irish Times, November 7th 2005
"Finghin Collins proved to be an absolute revelation.. The youthful spirit of the works.. found in Collins a congenial interpreter, recreating the music on the same level of emotion... He took the outer movements of the Sonata [K. 457 by Mozart] con brio: he seems in general to be a 'con-brio-pianist', who prefers quick forward-moving tempos, though he doesn't lose any of the clarity or nuances in his performance... The highlight of the evening were Schumann's "Fantasy Pieces op. 12". Collins brought a poetic reading to the variety of colours and characters in this music, and also had real feeling for the typically Schumannesque soulful counterpoint of the polyphonic material.."
Claus Regnault, Ebersberger Süd-Deutsche Zeitung, October 15th 2005
"... the highlight of the trios was Bartók's Contrasts.. is is a serious test of musical and technical mettle. On this occasion the outer movements made all the impact they should.